Memory Performance in Adolescents Living With Obesity: Brain Activation During Encoding and Retrieval in a Case-Control Study

Obes Sci Pract. 2026 Jun 23;12(3):e70147. doi: 10.1002/osp4.70147. eCollection 2026 Jun.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Effects of obesity on brain health have been revealed in adults, including mental health effects and cognitive impairment. Regarding cognition, obesity-related memory impairment has been specifically described. While this effect could have a major impact on learning abilities during adolescence, few studies have considered this critical period.

METHODS: In this present study, a new fMRI memory task based on paired encoding of faces and backgrounds and subsequent face recognition was presented to male adolescents living with obesity (N = 11) and their lean counterparts (N = 15).

RESULTS: Our study shows that adolescents living with obesity exhibited significantly lower face recognition memory performances (F_(1,72) = 9.84, p = 0.002) than their lean counterparts coupled with altered functional cerebral activation patterns during the encoding and retrieval phases of the task. More specifically, during the encoding of the task, a hypoactivation of the right hippocampus and the parahippocampal gyrus was identified in adolescents living with obesity and during the retrieval a hyperactivation of the precuneus (Z > 2.3, cluster-corrected p = 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that obesity during adolescence is associated with neurocognitive impairment. Future studies should consider adolescence more carefully since this memory impairment could contribute to academic learning difficulties faced by adolescents living with obesity.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: CHUBX 2017/19; CPP number: 2017-3A02533-50.

PMID:42345032 | PMC:PMC13288255 | DOI:10.1002/osp4.70147